Cities or civic groups with ideas for improving their communities have a new chance to make them a reality.

Grants from the AARP Community Challenge fund projects which do not take long to complete and help towns or neighborhoods improve public sites, transportation, housing, digital access and more.

Kimberly Campbell, state director for AARP Mississippi, said nationwide, AARP has granted more than $16 million toward 1,370 projects, including 19 in Mississippi. She explained grants can range from several hundred dollars for small, short-term activities to tens of thousands for larger projects.

"The Chamber of Commerce for the town of Oakland, Mississippi, used an AARP Community Challenge grant of $25,000 to improve the area around a senior center, by adding a decorative mural, helping build a pickleball court and adding a 'pocket park,' with benches and raised flower beds," Campbell outlined. "That was in 2023."

Campbell added applications from nonprofit organizations and government entities are prioritized. The application deadline is March 6. Once funded, the projects must be completed by Dec. 15. More information is online at AARP.org/CommunityChallenge.

This is the eighth year for the grants. Campbell noted the applications are being accepted for three different grant opportunities: capacity-building microgrants; demonstration grants, and what she explained are known as flagship grants.

"Those grants support projects that improve public places, transportation, housing, diversity, equity and inclusion, civic engagement, community health and economic empowerment," Campbell pointed out. "New to this area this year will be what we're calling the Community Resilience and Digital Connection."

Campbell added AARP will hold a webinar on Jan. 31 at 1 P-M Central time, to answer questions from prospective grant applicants. They can register on the AARP Mississippi Facebook page, or on X, formerly known as Twitter.

AARP Nebraska has increased its focus on educating people about cryptocurrency scams.

A measure tightening restrictions on crypto kiosks, often used by criminals trying to divert money, could face a vote in the state legislature as soon as today. Legislative Bill 609 requires operators of cryptocurrency kiosks, which operate a lot like ATMs, to be licensed under the state's Money Transmitters Act.

Jina Ragland, associate state director for AARP Nebraska, said the bill fits perfectly with the organization's savings and financial resilience initiative for the month of March, focusing on guarding against criminals who carry out financial scams.

"We know fraudulent activity targeting older Americans specifically is on the rise and even here in the state of Nebraska," Ragland reported. "A lot of that financial resilience and that education is learning about perpetrators of financial crimes."

Fraudsters typically foist romance scams on their victims, pose as government officials or offer phony online investment opportunities. Victims are often 50 years old or older. Ragland noted typically, if something appears too good to be true, it often is.

Ragland pointed out AARP Nebraska has advocated for tougher cryptocurrency kiosk regulation for several years and reminded older consumers not to overreact when they are presented with a crisis, even when it seems like time of is of the essence.

"Even in the heat of a moment when you feel emotionally involved and caught up, we always tell people 'Just stop and pause and step back from the situation,'" Ragland advised. "There is no situation no matter how dire it is that has to be solved in that immediate moment."

The city of Omaha has taken crypto kiosk regulation a step further. Businesses operating the machines have to post a written notice warning consumers of the potential fraud risks that accompany using them.

For many Mississippians, saving for retirement feels out of reach. Nearly 48% of private-sector workers in the state lack access to employer-sponsored retirement plans, leaving them with little to no savings for their later years.

AARP Mississippi is advocating for a solution with Senate Bill 2861, a state-facilitated retirement savings program which could help thousands of workers secure their futures. The bill would create an optional workplace retirement savings program for private-sector employees. Workers could opt to contribute a portion of their paycheck into a Roth IRA, with the state treasurer's office managing the program.

Kimberly Campbell, state director for AARP Mississippi, said the program is designed to help those who need it most, particularly moderate to lower-income individuals.

"They are not saving, and then that sector is also the sector later on that financially struggles the most, and they can't afford health care, they can't afford to live in safe places, they can't afford healthy food," Campbell outlined. "This program would help them build a nest egg for the future."

Critics argued the state should prioritize incentivizing private employers to offer retirement plans rather than creating a government-run program. However, a 2023 report from the National Institute on Retirement Security found that 57% of working-age Americans have less than $5,000 saved for retirement.

The bill has gained bipartisan support and is part of a multiyear effort by AARP Mississippi to address the state's retirement savings gap. Campbell emphasized the program would be entirely voluntary.

"It is not mandatory," Campbell stressed. "Our bill is that people would be able to opt into this if they are so inclined because research has shown us that entities that have a retirement savings program, by and large, more people will save that way than if not."

Advocates warned Mississippi's low retirement savings and aging population, of which more than 16% of residents are 65 or older, make the issue urgent. AARP Mississippi is pushing lawmakers to act, as the bill must clear the House Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee today or it will die. Its companion bill in the House has already failed.

AARP Colorado is accepting applications from nonprofits and local governments across the state for this year's Community Challenge grant program.

The grants are part of AARP's national Livable Communities initiative.

Associate State Director Marissa Volpe said they're meant to fund quick-action projects that help rural, suburban, and urban communities make improvements - with a special focus on the needs of people 50 and older.

"These are really small dollar, big impact grants," said Volpe, "that aim to make communities more livable for people of all ages."

AARP has invested more than $20 million in some 1,700 projects since 2017, including 32 in Colorado.

Grants have helped launch community gardens, and disaster preparedness training, increase high-speed internet access, and improve housing, and public transportation.

This year's projects must be completed by December 15. Applications are online at AARP.org/communitychallenge. The deadline is 3 p.m. Mountain Time on March 5.

Volpe said capacity-building micro grants are a good way to get neighbors to work on projects that can lead to long-lasting improvements.

For example, walkability audits help people see their community from a pedestrian's perspective, and create a checklist of improvements for city planners.

"Can two people walk down the sidewalk together?," said Volpe. "Is it accessible for somebody who may be rolling in a wheelchair? Are there cracks, are there tree stumps coming through? Are there places to sit and rest, are there benches?"

Volpe says AARP is committed to getting resources into communities that have traditionally been left behind when it comes to investments in green spaces, playgrounds and even streetlights and sidewalks.

"We absolutely want to think about those communities that have been underserved," said Volpe, "and how this grant is going to address those disparities."